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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096735">Surprises</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcisamtyler/pseuds/dcisamtyler'>dcisamtyler</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Simm!Master One-Shots [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Gen, In which the Doctor is a total matchmaker, Matchmaking, Other, Weddings, and a sneaky little shit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:54:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,765</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25096735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcisamtyler/pseuds/dcisamtyler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When you're invited to your cousin's wedding, you invite The Doctor as your date. He believes you should invite The Master instead, much to your chagrin.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tenth Doctor/Reader, Tenth Doctor/The Master (Simm), Tenth Doctor/The Master (Simm)/Reader, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Reader, The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), The Master (Doctor Who)/Reader, The Master (Simm)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Simm!Master One-Shots [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1851601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Surprises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of course, your beautiful and intelligent cousin, who could afford any wedding venue in the world, decided to get married on a <cite>farm</cite>.</p><p>While you thought the whole rustic thing was cute at first, you regretted it as soon as you could hear your brand-new shoes scuffing in the dirt and gravel as you walked down the long pathway that led to the ceremony.</p><p>Your cousin picked the perfect day with a bright blue sky and warm weather, but you still couldn’t keep your body loose on the walk up to the barn. Panicked thoughts flashed in your mind - all of the horrid possibilities that your mind conjured up while you sat with dread over this wedding for months. You really weren't looking forward to seeing your family, especially knowing that you'd have to stop traveling in the TARDIS for a day.</p><p>You had abandoned them for a life of travel among the stars, claiming you were simply traveling all over the world with a friend. You really weren’t looking forward to the small talk about what you had been doing for half a year. You could imagine it now. <cite>How was Egypt?</cite> You didn’t go. <cite>Italy?</cite> No. <cite>Canada?</cite> No.</p><p>Eventually, it would only end up in the question of where you <cite>did</cite> go.</p><p>You didn’t want to explain it. How could you?</p><p>The Doctor had been so welcoming to you over the last six months, taking you to all of the planets one could ever hope to see and more. There was your personal favorite – the planet of Sound where all the inhabitants’ voices floated like melodies. You and The Doctor had sung karaoke to Earth songs, including his favorite, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers. Then there was his favorite, the Nebula Nebula (“a planet so good they named it twice") where the two of you shared a chocolate milkshake with stardust shavings.</p><p>But then one day, The Doctor forced (“invited”) another Time Lord on board the TARDIS to travel with you, apparently to keep him out of trouble.</p><p>Scruffy and blonde, you swore he had to be about a hundred pounds soaking wet. But he was feisty. He snapped at you the moment you reached a hand out to shake his, calling you a bunch of alien expletives that even the TARDIS refused to translate. But when he called you a worthless human, it was just the way he said “human” as if he was swallowing venom that made your skin crawl.</p><p>But after a few trips, that little Time Lord grew on you – a fondness you still weren’t sure was reciprocated.</p><p>Yet, the Doctor would leave the two of you alone, claiming he was ill or needed to do maintenance on the TARDIS. He knew you were growing a soft spot for The Master. He was only lying to you to help you develop it.</p><p>One night, you and The Master sat with your legs dangling out of the TARDIS, watching the stars and planets as they passed by in the purple sky.</p><p>The Master sat close to you, his thighs touching yours. You figured he was probably unfamiliar with human intimacy because he touched your thigh with his hand or nudged you every once in a while as he talked about the planets he wanted to take over. “You’d really love this one, Y/N,” he had said about one particular planet, talking about the beauty of its lush green fields and red mountains. He glanced at you, waiting for your response, and you caught a glimpse of the sparkling hunger in his eyes.</p><p>As his gaze lingered on you for just a bit too long, your breath caught in your throat. That night, something bloomed in your chest out of that soft spot for The Master, light and golden. You always tried to ignore it.</p><p>As you walked up the barn, all light feelings for anything were gone and now replaced by a rigid and tight feeling, as if anxiety had a strong grip on you itself. You heaved a sigh, absent-mindedly reaching out to take your date’s hand for comfort. When you glanced next to you, you noticed a very empty spot where a very under-dressed Time Lord should have been.</p><p>You stopped in your tracks, still facing the barn. You could have sworn The Master had been walking with you, but then again, you couldn’t have noticed. Your gaze had been tunnel-visioned by the anxiety of seeing your family again, not to mention the fact that your wedding date was a thousand-year-old <cite>alien</cite> who decided to wear a black hoodie and pants because he insisted he wouldn’t wear anything else.</p><p>Several possibilities shot through your head all at once, but you quickly disputed a bunch of them. The Doctor had landed at the end of the pathway. Had The Master ran away without The Doctor noticing? Was The Master too busy being a brat that didn’t want to interact with humans? Somehow, your mind immediately claimed the latter.</p><p>“C’mon, Master – I’m not getting any younger, and you certainly aren’t either,” you called over your shoulder, as you studied the elegant white drapes cascading in waves down the front of the barn.</p><p>A few seconds later, you heard a huff from somewhere behind you. Your eyebrows shot up to your forehead as you whipped around, a warning ready to fall off your tongue.</p><p>You knew The Master too well, which is why you really didn’t want to take him as your date in the first place. He could barely process or comprehend human emotion – let alone love and romance. A wedding could bore him to regeneration, or worse, drive him to a boredom where he’d want to kill, which was extremely possible. He hadn’t met your family yet and you just knew he was going to hate them enough. Even you did.</p><p>After all, the only reason you were actually going to that wedding was because you loved your cousin, Kacey, and her fiancée.</p><p>But The Doctor had declined your date invitation.</p><p>“Oh, Y/N. See, I’m not too much of a wedding man myself, but The Master here,” he casually slung an arm around The Master’s shoulders as The Master shot eye-daggers at him. “He really loves a party. Don’t you, Master?”</p><p>You simply watched in confusion as The Master glared at The Doctor, who was raising his eyebrows in expectation, his grip tightening. This lasted a few beats as if they were carrying on a silent conversation, just the two of them. You were about to turn around and sit when The Master swallowed and said, “Okay, I’ll go.”</p><p>You opened your mouth to speak when he continued, “But I’m wearing my hoodie and pants. Nothing fancy. I don’t care what a human thinks of me.”</p><p>Behind him, The Doctor let out a snort, before covering his mouth with a quick apology.</p><p>But now, a few weeks later, at the wedding venue, your eyes fell on The Master as his lips curled into a soft, almost sheepish smile. A look you hadn’t ever seen before.</p><p>Your mouth opened and closed as you took in the sight of him. He stood with his hands in his pockets, trying his best to seem relaxed and nonchalant. Your eyes trailed over his dark-gray dress shirt, black pants, and tie, his neatly-combed blonde hair. You squinted at him, noticing a bit of black on his eyelids. “Are you wearing <cite>eyeliner</cite>?"</p><p>The smile fell from The Master’s face and he stepped back, his face twisting into a wounded look. “Wow. Okay, Y/N, I’ll go chan--"</p><p>Your hands immediately flew up to stop him. “No, no, I meant, you look handsome,” you said, your voice an octave higher. You cleared your throat. “Master, I thought you didn’t care what all of these humans thought of you.”</p><p>A soft chuckle came up from behind him, and you tilted your head to see The Doctor leaning against the TARDIS, arms crossed over his chest. “Go on then, tell them, Master,” he coaxed, his lips falling into a smirk.</p><p>The Master shot back a look at the other Time Lord and stepped forward so that he was only a foot away from you. “I don’t care what the other humans think of me," he said.</p><p>You blinked and gave a little shrug, confusion written all over your features. “But you changed, I don’t…”</p><p>You couldn't speak as you watched The Master, your breath hitching in your throat as he inched closer, taking your hand. He met your eyes and smiled softly. “I only care what <cite>you</cite> think of me.”</p><p>You couldn’t believe it. You tilted your head at The Doctor for support. He raised an eyebrow playfully as he mouthed, “He likes you,” pointing at The Master and drawing a sloppy heart in the air with his index fingers.</p><p>“Wha-? What? <cite>What is he saying?</cite>” The Master’s eyebrows lifted as you grinned, the smile only growing as you met his gaze again.</p><p>You squeezed his hand and let go without an explanation.</p><p>You moved your hands up to his chest, then his shoulders, and he seemed to melt under your touch. But then, he smirked as his hands shot up to your waist to pull you closer. You tried to muffle your squeal as he caught you off guard, a laugh bubbling against his chest.</p><p>The ceremony was starting soon, but you didn’t care. You rested your forehead against The Master’s for a moment. You could feel his hearts thumping against your chest, his warm arms wrapped tight around your waist. He swallowed hard, moving to brush his lips on yours, before whispering sarcastically, “Y/N, <cite>please</cite> say something before I regenerate.” </p><p>You pulled away, your eyes flitting up to meet his. You were certain that you were glowing - you had been so comfortable for that short moment as you were tangled up in him. All of the anxiety seemed to melt away while in his arms.</p><p>“Okay, well...we have a ceremony to get to,” you said. You glanced up at him as you let go of his hands. His urgent eyes clouded with confusion, as he opened and closed his mouth, unable to speak.</p><p>Finally, The Master stopped balking. "What?"</p><p>"Oh, and of course...I love you <cite>too</cite>, Master," you said, moving back to get out of his reach. </p><p>As he realized what you just confessed, his eyes widened. He reached for you to pull you back to him, but you were already laughing over your shoulder, your eyes twinkling.</p>
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